The 2017 Portland Tech Diversity Survey Results

Two years ago, we signed the Portland TechTown Diversity Pledge with a number of other local tech organizations.

At the time, we were ignorant on many aspects of the issues in our industry.

Today I say, with confidence, that we’re less ignorant of the issues. But we still have a long way to go.

Earlier today, Prosper Portland published the results that outline the progress (and non-progress) of Portland’s tech community over the last two years.

Our team was able to contribute to this project by donating time to design and develop a microsite to highlight the results of this year’s research findings. We invite you to take a look at the 2017 Portland Tech Diversity Survey results.

Since we signed the pledge, our nearly all of our team has participated in Unconscious Bias Training and other inclusion workshops to discuss ways to put best practices into play.

From a hiring perspective, we’ve revisited our recruitment process starting with the job ads themselves, how we review resumes and applications, and how we grade and discuss interviewees as a team. The entire process has become more formalized, clearly documented, and the entire team is now on the same page.

We’re a small company and not anticipating a massive hiring spree in the near future, so we’re focusing on other ways to promote diversity and inclusion.

We have plans to connect with local youth in our community through volunteering, mentoring, internships, and sponsoring programs over the next year. The underlying goal of our involvement in these programs is to show the different types of career paths young people could explore with some real-world examples.

I'm encouraged by the small progress that the Portland tech community has made in two short years, and motivated by the areas where we haven't seen progress to continually work harder with the Planet Argon team for a more inclusive and diverse environment.